News & Events

We’re coming to the end of the research which means we’re ready to share our findings and recommendations.

As part of this, we held two workshops in March 2018:

London, 27th March 2018

Newcastle, 28th March 2018.

The workshops were attended by representatives of debt advice organisations and charities, regulatory bodies and consumer advice organisations. Dr James Ash introduced the research, followed by discussion of the findings and recommendations. We also showcased the digital tool that we have developed as part of the research dissemination activities. We would like to thank everyone who attended, especially for your insightful and thoughtful contributions to the discussion.

Copies of the report and briefing notes will be available very soon. Details will be shared on this project website and via Twitter.

The Improving Financial Health Conference has been organised by the Centre for Responsible Credit and Toynbee Hall’s Financial Health Exchange. We will be delivering a session exploring the Debt & Digital Interfaces research findings. In particular, we will be discussing how digital credit is changing consumers’ borrowing practices and their understandings of indebtedness. We will also be sharing our thoughts on the implications of the research for future developments and interventions in the consumer credit market in an increasingly digital world.

We recently wrote an article for I-PEEL, an online learning resource to support the study of International Political Economy (IPE) through everyday objects and practices. Our article focuses on the payday loan website and draws on original research from the Debt & Digital Interfaces project. You can visit the website and read our article here.

Discussions will last between 45 minutes and 1 hour and take place at a time and place convenient to you. Participants will be given a £20 shopping voucher as a thank you for their involvement in the research.

Your experiences are important in helping to produce evidence and recommendations about how digital devices are changing the credit market and impacting people’s everyday lives. All interviews will be confidential and anonymised and participants would be entitled to receive a report outlining the key findings of the research at the end of the project.

If you would like to take part, please contact Rachel Gordon at Newcastle University: rachel.gordon@newcastle.ac.uk.

We had a very productive and enjoyable first project meeting with some of our partners who work across Newcastle helping people with debt and money matters.

Dr James Ash began the workshop by introducing the project and the research objectives. This prompted a discussion between participants about what aspects of the research really interested their organisations and how the research linked to pertinent issues and challenges experienced by their clients. We then heard from each representative about the work they do and who their clients are. This stimulated discussion around people’s everyday practices and experiences of credit, debt and money, with a particular emphasis on the role of digital devices. We heard a lot about people’s skills in ‘juggling money’, managing tight budgets from one week to the next, and the tactics they employ when managing different types of credit. This prompted some talk around the changes to Universal Credit and how this might affect how people manage their money. To round off the event, we reflected on common interests and experiences across the represented organisations and our next steps.

We’re looking forward to a productive first workshop with project partners next week. Our first project workshop will take place on 27th September 2016 at Newcastle University. We’ll be meeting representatives of our partner organisations working in debt support and advice in Newcastle. This will give us an opportunity to talk about to them about what they do day to day, who they support, what issues their clients experience and how the research can help them understand the relationship between digital devices, interface design and practices of accessing credit online.

If you’re interested in the project, please get in touch with us. It would be great to hear from you.

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Digital Interfaces and Debt: Understanding Mediated Decision Making Processes in High Cost Short Term Credit Products is a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), led by Dr James Ash at Newcastle University, UK.